According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

There are four observations I want to make based on this passage. First, the foundation of our lives is Jesus Christ (v.11). The Christian life is the life of Christ living in and through us. Jesus Christ should be everything to us. He is our reason for living, and as our foundation, He brings strength and stability to the structure of our lives.

Second, we must approach life with discernment and great care because our lives reflect the foundation upon which we are built (vv.10-11). Ever time we trade in the motivation of responding to god’s love and provision for the stuff of this life, we introduce foreign substances to our foundation. It weakens the building (our lives) and cheapens the structure.

Some of us have absorbed the “foreign substances” of this life. It weighs us down and it is causing damage to our spiritual structure. In a word, we need to strip our foundations and return to the bedrock: Jesus.

Third, we will be held accountable for our choices and approach to life (v. 13). It is true that as followers of Christ we will not be judged concerning our eternal destiny. That was settled at the cross, and when we placed our faith in Christ, our sins were forgiven and we received the gift of eternal life. But that doesn’t mean we should live carelessly, following the whims of whatever we desire. According to this passage, we will be held accountable for what we do with our lives. The critical question is: What will be revealed when “the fire itself will test the quality of [your] work”?

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